Limited data can also exclude people from statistic, such as hidden homelessness which includes people who live in severely crowded accommodation, sleep rough out of sight or are staying with friends or family or “sofa-surfing”.
The report found that one issue with current poland rcs data research in this area is the inevitable time lag between data collection, publication, analysis and research publication that is based on many of the most important datasets in this area (such as the Family Resource Survey or Wealth and Assets Survey). The last couple of years with Covid and the rapid rise in energy costs for example have meant that there are gaps in these areas which can lead to a partial or incomplete view of the issues. Whilst the report does not give any specific solutions to this problem, they encourage those in position to continue to seek the most effective way to get high-quality and timely data available for use. They argue that the cost of this would be outweighed by the benefits.
Innovative digital tools
We really liked the digital tools (which can be found here) they have developed that draw on a range of datasets to provide information on the both the cost-of-living crisis and related support services. Both tools are location based, with one providing a map of the UK and including various metrics related to cost of living. There is also a Local Authority Tool which provides data on the same metrics based on local authority. You can also search by postcode to see which of the cost-of-living challenges are most prevalent in a specific area. These tools, and the datasets they’re built on, will hopefully be of use to researchers and people “on the ground” across England.